Future & Past
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: The Shield is long gone and left in its ruins are a fractured friendship and fighting. Can she ever escape it or will they fix things? (Co-written with Cry-Of-A-Warp-Engine)
1. There's Always Some Kind Of Fight

_**August 25th 2015, after SmackDown and NXT tapings…**_

' _Well fuck…' Amanda thought after reaching the hotel room and hearing Dean and Roman arguing drunkenly before having to jump back as Dean stormed out and down the hall._

" _Don't come crying to me when Renee tosses you out on your ass!" Roman yelled out the door._

" _I'll sleep in the damn rental car if I have to!" Dean shouted before disappearing into the elevator, Amanda grabbing what she could and packing them up as Roman tried to stop her._

" _Mandy, please stay! It was just a little fight between friends!" Roman begged as Amanda headed out the door with her duffel bag before turning around._

" _I can't crash with you guys when you're drunk… call Seth if you want a roommate." Amanda responded before heading down the hallway._

 _She had gotten out of the elevator and would've headed to the front desk had it not been for the nearby door opening and her seeing Sami._

" _Told ya I heard someone out here!" Sami said into the room before lightly grabbing Amanda by her right wrist and led her into the room before closing and locking the door… the last thing Amanda thought that she'd see this late was a lego house on the floor but the second Finn saw her, he stopped building it and stood up, walking over and the two hugging._

" _So sick of them fighting like that… they'll be over it by morning, friends usually are but I just didn't feel like hearing it tonight." Amanda said quietly as they let go and Finn's hands resting on her shoulders._

" _Can't blame you one bit, people get out of control at times." Finn responded after setting Amanda's duffel bag on the bed before she and Sami hugged._

" _Yes they do and I am gonna go crash out in my own room… these walls are thin, try not to make too much noise when you get at it." Sami replied, the last part jokingly and Amanda swatting him before Sami walked to the adjoining door and opened it, walking into his own room and closing the door… and Amanda seeing that Sami had dropped off Finn's duffel bag, having accidentally grabbed it after leaving instead of his own._

 _Finn disassembled his Legos as Amanda took her makeup off with a Neutrogena Makeup Remover wipe before tossing it in the small trashcan and closing the pack of wipes before putting it away in the front pocket… and Finn seeing the expression on her face change._

" _Was in such a rush to get out of there that I…" Amanda said, trailing off when she saw Finn grab the white shirt he had worn during the promo before NXT: TakeOver: Brooklyn and hand it to her before turning around as she stripped down to her hiphugger panties before putting the shirt on and putting her own clothes away and climbing into the bed._

 _Finn took his own clothes off, leaving him in his light blue boxers as he climbed into the bed with Amanda and reached his left hand over to brush her hair back._

" _If I have to put up with one more fight between them, I'm gonna lose my fucking mind… as much as I care about those guys, I just need a break from them." Amanda whispered before giving into sleep, Finn kissing her on her forehead before closing his eyes._

' _We all just need a bit of quiet time…' Finn thought before drifting off into sleep…_

 **Present time…**

Amanda stretched her legs slightly as she felt Finn's arms around her and opened her eyes after rubbing them, her mind fuzzy and her body feeling like it was weighed down by bricks and tried to close her eyes again after seeing that it was only 5:40 in the morning but noticed that Finn was half awake… and then it registered to her why he wasn't sleeping when she heard fists banging against the door.

"Open this door and give me back my Shield Sister, Balor!" Dean yelled drunkenly, Amanda turning the lamp light on.

"Yeah… he's beyond drunk." Amanda muttered as she and Finn sat up and Finn grabbed his phone, turning to the video recorder and turning it to them as Dean continued yelling and hitting at the door.

"The disintegration of the group formerly known as The Shield continues… it is nearly 6 in the damn morning, Dean is still drunk and living up to his Lunatic Fringe gimmick, it seems. Mandy showed up here at about 11 last night because of the fighting… you all can hear that in the background…" Finn replied before feeling Amanda's right arm wrap around him and her head rest on his right shoulder as Dean continued yelling. "You see how exhausted she is, right? This is ridiculous, she should be able to get away from them for a few hours." He responded.

"And Dean's not gonna go anywhere anytime soon with how he is, we might find him passed out in front of the door in the morning. Unless he wakes Sami or… Sami's in the room on the left, who's staying in the room on the right?" Amanda replied.

"Johnny Gargano, I think." Finn answered before hearing the door on the right open and Johnny storm out and grab Dean, Finn stopping and saving the recording before closing the app out and setting his phone down.

"Get off me!" Dean yelled, Johnny punching him as Sami reached them.

"We're all trying to sleep, Dean! Now leave Mandy and Finn alone!" Johnny responded angrily.

"We're all exhausted but you, Roman and Seth are stressing Mandy out even worse than normal!" Sami said.

"And what, they're gonna make a big fuckup together and split the whole group up! Oh wait a second, the… group's already dead, ain't it?" Dean replied angrily.

"Yeah, now just head back to your room!" Johnny said.

"Can't… got into a fight with Roman, he'll kill me if I show back up there." Dean responded.

"Why were you two fighting?" Johnny questioned.

"Something about the escalating tension and I stupidly suggested that Seth and Mandy should fuck and get it out of their system." Dean explained, Amanda clamping her right hand to her mouth as her face turned red and Finn rested his right hand on her back as Johnny and Sami dragged Dean away.

"The hell has gotten into him?!" Amanda whispered after lowering her hand, Finn rubbing his up and down her back.

"I hope he won't remember it later." Finn responded before turning the lamp light off and wrapping his arms around Amanda before they stretched out and closed their eyes, giving into sleep.


	2. You Really Said That?

_**WWE Fastlane 2015, after six man tag…**_

" _Hey… that was great out there." Seth heard, seeing Amanda… she reached out to hug him but stopped when he lightly pressed his fingers into her collarbone. "Okay, that's not like you at all… what's going on here, Seth?" The 24 year old diva said, confused._

" _Nothing." Seth answered and turned to leave… he reached the edge of the hallway when he heard "You know, I'm getting really sick of this, Rollins!" and turned back, walking to Amanda._

" _What did you just say to me?!" Seth demanded._

" _Lately, you've treated me like we barely know each other… and you might not care but that hurts me, Seth. What did I do wrong, why don't you want anything to do with me anymore?" Amanda responded, Seth slamming the Money In The Bank briefcase down in rage and muttering a name under his breath… but Amanda heard it. "He is my friend but the Demon King and Demon Mistress thing, it's just a storyline, Seth. Just like The Shield splitting apart was for the cameras, it shouldn't affect us backstage." She said before he turned back to her._

" _Well it does! Before we know it, you'll be in the same bed and room, you'll be walking out into the arena hand in hand, leg up and lips together and it will be far from 'just an act'!" Seth said._

 _Amanda closed her hazel eyes for a split second and slapped Seth, attempting to hit him again… only to be stopped and see her old friend Joey Mercury._

" _Both of you calm down." Joey said, trying to keep the peace between the two._

" _Joey, stay outta this!" Seth snapped at him._

 _Amanda carefully pulled her hand away and walked off, Joey turning to Seth._

" _That was low, even for you! Mandy is a damn loyal friend, you idiot! And now you just want to kick her to the side because she's found the kind of happiness she hasn't had in years?!" Joey said._

" _The second I get my loyal friend back, I'll rethink it!" Seth responded before leaving._

 _Down the hallway, Amanda pulled her hood of her Balor Club hoodie over her head, wanting to just disappear entirely._

 _This was a lot different than NXT but for Finn, it was a good way to learn, watching the main roster matches in person._

 _He stopped for a few seconds when he heard sniffling… the parts of chestnut hair sticking out from the hoodie the small woman was wearing was a dead giveaway to him. But in the few months he had known_ _Amanda, he had never seen her this upset and walked over, crouching down and resting his hands on her knees._

 _Amanda looked up, brushing her tears away._

" _I feel so stupid… I thought that Seth and I had hit a rough patch in our friendship but that we'd fix it…" Amanda said, her voice croaky. "Why did I even bother trying?_ _He just_ _keeps pushing me away…_ _I called him out on it and things went to hell." She said, Finn pulling her into his arms… out of instinct, her arms wrapped around him and her head rested on his left shoulder._

" _He's the one who's stupid, not you. He doesn't see what this does to you." Finn whispered before he picked Amanda up off the floor and took her to where her locker room was, putting her on the couch._

" _I was also gonna talk to him about tomorrow night's event… I don't think I can go through with the scripted part, I just…" Amanda said, trailing off as she curled her legs up a bit so Finn could sit down. "It wouldn't be the first_ _time in this business that it's happened, storyline relationships turning real off camera… he's acting like I betrayed him." She said quietly, Finn wrapping his arm around her shoulders after she sat up. "I'm just… I'm gonna go tell Hunter what happened and about everything…"_

 _Amanda started to stand up but stopped when Finn's left hand wrapped around her right wrist._

" _Whatever happens… between you and me or anyone else, it's none of_ _Seth's business… there's nothing he can do but mouth off about it like a jealous little child." Finn said._

" _Who's gonna believe him anyway?... he needs to get his own life together." Amanda responded, starting_ _to feel calmer._

" _Exactly, and we're far from the only ones who know that." Finn said, Amanda sitting down again. "Times like these… are when we find out who our true friends and companions are."_

" _The ones who don't run at the first sign of trouble… who are honest the first time we ask for it and us being_ _honest with them…" Amanda whispered as they held each other…_

 **Present time,** _ **August 26th 2015**_ **…**

Dean opened his eyes a few hours later to see Seth glaring at him, arms folded.

"Oh don't give me that look, Rollins." Dean muttered as he sat up, rubbing his head.

"Gargano told me what you said last night." Seth responded.

"When the hell did I speak to Johnny Gargano? I don't remember a damn thing from after 11 last night." Dean replied.

"Sometime before 6am… he said that you suggested that me and Mandy should fuck and get the tension out of our system." Seth answered, Dean sitting up.

"Damn me and my mouth. Have you found her and talked to her yet?" Dean responded.

"No and I don't know how to this time." Seth replied.

"Neither do I." Dean said.

At the same time in hers and Finn's room, Amanda had the radio on.

 _ **Oh, life is bigger  
It's bigger  
Than you and you are not me**_

 _ **The lengths that I will go to  
The distance in your eyes  
Oh no, I've said too much  
I set it up**_

 _ **That's me in the corner  
That's me in the spotlight  
Losing my religion  
Trying to keep up with you**_

 _ **And I don't know if I can do it  
Oh no, I've said too much  
I haven't said enough**_

 _ **I thought that I heard you laughing  
I thought that I heard you sing  
I think I thought I saw you try**_

 _ **Every whisper  
Of every waking hour  
I'm choosing my confessions  
Trying to keep an eye on you**_

 _ **Like a hurt lost and blinded fool, fool  
Oh no, I've said too much**_

 _ **I set it up**_

 _ **Consider this  
Consider this  
The hint of the century**_

 _ **Consider this  
The slip that brought me  
To my knees failed**_

 _ **What if all these fantasies  
Come flailing around  
Now I've said too much**_

 _ **I thought that I heard you laughing  
I thought that I heard you sing  
I think I thought I saw you try**_

 _ **But that was just a dream  
That was just a dream**_

 _ **That's me in the corner  
That's me in the spotlight  
Losing my religion  
Trying to keep up with you**_

 _ **And I don't know if I can do it  
Oh no, I've said too much  
I haven't said enough**_

 _ **I thought that I heard you laughing  
I thought that I heard you sing  
I think I thought I saw you try**_

 _ **But that was just a dream  
try, cry  
why try?**_

 _ **That was just a dream, just a dream, just a dream  
Dream**_

"Mandy?" Finn responded after wrapping his arms around her waist, Amanda leaning against him.

She wasn't sure whether she wanted to talk to the guys or strangle them.


End file.
